PS4 VS Xbox One: which console is best for you?
The PS4 and Xbox One have been competing for people’s attention since both launched worldwide in 2013. Both act as a great platform in which to experience everything that modern gaming has to offer, but it’s reasonable to assume that most people will only be able to afford one or the other. With that in mind, we at Consoles.com have put together this handy guide comparing the benefits of both, splitting out what Xbox One and PS4 gives you in terms of Specs, Hardware, Design, Price and Games. We’re aiming to settle the PS4 vs Xbox One debate for good!
Before we dive into it proper, though, it’s worth highlighting that both Xbox One and PS4 have been replaced by much leaner, more powerful hardware iterations in the years since they originally released. This makes it virtually impossible to pick up a launch model, so these newer SKUs – the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S are the consoles we’ll be comparing.
Specs
Here’s a quick glance at the basic specs of the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S. It’s an easy way to get just a quick impression of how the two compare, free of technical jargon that makes it simple for non-gamers to understand.
| Specs | Xbox One S | PS4 Slim |
|---|---|---|
| Storage Capacity | 1TB | 1TB |
| Supports 4K | Yes | No |
| Power | 1.4 teraflops | 1.8 teraflops |
| Memory | 8GB | 8GB |
| USB Ports | 3 | 2 |
| Backwards Compatible | Yes | No |
| Noise level | 46 decibels | 55 decibels |
Hardware
In terms of hardware, both the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S make some useful iterations that improve upon their 2013 predecessors. The Xbox One S, for example, no longer suffers from having a chunky power brick, and features a 4K-ready Ultra-HD Blu-ray player built-in. That’s as long as you grab an original Xbox One S and not the recently released Xbox One S All-Digital edition. Both respective versions upscale 1080p games to something close to 4K resolution. Just make sure you already have a 4K TV if you want to see the full benefit.
The PS4 Slim also makes some slight tweaks to the 2019 PS4 design, albeit in far fewer notable ways than what’s seen in the Xbox One S. Any 4K compatibility, for example, is reserved for the PS4’s big brother console, the PS4 Pro. It still renders most games beautifully at standard 1080p resolution, with most visual flourish being added via the HDR (High Dynamic Range) inclusion. Xbox One S has this also, though. PS4 Slim does trounce the Xbox One S’s 1.4 TFLOPs of power with 1.8 TFLOPs, but it’s the former’s slight edge in resolution potential.
Winner: Xbox One
Design
As alluded to earlier, both the Xbox One S and PS4 Slim significantly trim down the original PS4 and Xbox One designs that landed on store shelves in 2013, making some slight tweaks that reduces their overall size and makes slotting them into your entertainment centre far easier. The PS4 Slim retains the iconic two-tier design (PS4 Pro features three tiers), but it thankfully does away with any glossy finish on the top. It’s now totally matte so that your PS4 Slim is no longer a breeding ground for fingerprints. The PS4 Slim is also now the smallest console currently on the market, measuring up at just 10.4 x 11.3 x 1.5 inches compared to the first PS4’s 12 x 10.8 x 2.09 inches.
The Xbox One S similarly refines its predecessor’s design, distancing itself from bulkier visuals aspects that a lot of people had a problem with in the original Xbox One. In terms of measurements, the Xbox One S comes is 11.6 x 8.9 x 2.5 inches. This makes it slightly bigger than the PS4 Slim, but it’s still small enough to fit into your setup neatly.
Winner: PS4 Slim
Price
At the time of writing, PS4 continues to outsell the Xbox One by quite some way. However, this actually works to the benefit of those who want to purchase the latter, as to compensate for this disparity in sales the Xbox One S is much more affordable compared to the PS4 Slim. The MSRP of an Xbox One S is roughly $249 currently, while a PS4 Slim without any additional accessories or games is comes in at $50 more than that. This isn’t a massive difference in cost but could still play into your purchase decision.
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Xbox One S 500GB console bundled with:
- Minecraft Explorer's Pack
- Minecraft Story Mode: The Complete Adventure
- Xbox Live 3 Months Gold Membership
- Minecraft Explorer’s pack
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The good news is that the price of any console is easily offset by picking it up as part of a bundle. Both the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S have a lot of these available, with such blockbuster games as Anthem, Red Dead Redemption 2 and more coming for ostensibly for free. A console bundle helps increase the value of your purchase, making the Xbox One vs Slim debate suddenly a lot simpler.
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Winner: Xbox One S
Games
Of course, who cares how powerful or cheap a games console is it doesn’t have any decent games to play on it? In this regard, the PS4 Slim has the Xbox One S beat every time. Sony has done an excellent job at collecting a suite of top-tier first-party developers of the years, with studios like Naughty Dog giving us The Last of Us and the Uncharted Series, Insomniac releasing Marvel’s Spider-Man and Sony Santa Monica creating God of War (2018). All of these are critically acclaimed triple-A games that can’t be played anywhere else, and that’s not likely to change.
The Xbox One S features a modest selection of exclusives, by comparison, with Microsoft’s console often being considered as a great place to play for multiplatform titles from the likes of EA, Activision and Ubisoft. This is in addition to the slow drip of Xbox franchise releases like Halo 5, Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 4. Microsoft has just recently purchased a slew of game studios, but the games developed by these won’t likely see release until the Xbox One’s successor.
Winner: PS4 Slim
Summary
Overall, both consoles are a great choice for anyone looking to experience what the current generation of gaming has to offer. While the Xbox One S might pip the PS4 Slim ever so slightly in terms of the hardware and technical side, all this means nothing if not for the actual games you can play on it. With that in mind, the PS4 Slim equally manages to hold its own as the home of great exclusives.
Winner: Tie
Now you can better determine your winner of the PS4 vs Xbox One battle, you’ve hopefully got enough information to buy the right console for you. So why not compare today’s best Xbox One deals and PS4 Slim deals to save money with Console.com.